Hospital admissions for mental health increase by 65% in a decade among young people
The number of young people aged between five and 18 admitted went from roughly 24,000 in 2012 to just under 40,000 in 2022, according to the findings published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Over half of the admissions for mental health were due to self-harm, the study found.
By comparison, all-cause admissions to medical wards increased by ten per cent.
'The increased intensity [in mental health admissions] is presenting real challenges for acute wards, both for patients and their families and the staff supporting them,' Dr Lee Hudson from the University College London (UCL) and the study's senior author, said in a statement.
'They may not be set up with an appropriate ward environment for this care, and sometimes staff working there need more training and support with relevant skills,' he added.
The increased admission rate isn't just related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the authors who said they were doing further research to understand the reasons behind the rise.
'It is of course crucial to understand the factors driving these presentations to better support the mental health of young patients,' he said.
The increase in admissions was particularly high for girls aged between 11 and 15, which more than doubled in a decade, and for young people suffering from eating disorders whose admissions increased by 514.6 per cent.
Urgent need for 'prevention strategy'
'The best way to tackle mental ill health is by intervening to reduce the risk of problems developing in the first place,' Eamon McCrory, a professor of developmental neuroscience and psychopathology at UCL who did not take part in the study, said in a statement.
'These important findings highlight further the pressing need for a comprehensive, cross-government mental health prevention strategy,' he added.
This worsening of young people's mental health is a global issue with a recent study finding that the rate of mental health visits, hospitalisations, and prescriptions for medicines like antidepressants and others increased 'significantly' among France's youth.
Overall, one in seven people aged between 10 and 19 in the world experiences a mental disorder, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data, with anxiety, depression, and behavioural disorders among the most common conditions.
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